Madonna with Child Enthroned by Giovanni dal Ponte (di Marco)

- Item No.

The paintings of Giovanni dal Ponte (di Marco) are among the finest of the Italian Renaissance

Key Features

An incredibly rare Italian Renaissance painting of the Madonna and Child by Giovanni dal Ponte

This early 15th-century work is one of the few to appear on the market, with most held by museums

Dal Ponte's use of perspective gives depth and importance to the subject at hand

Circa 1420-1425

Tempera on gold ground panel

41 1/4" high x 23 1/4" wide

Item Details

Width:
14 Inches

Height:
21 1/2 Inches

Period:
Renaissance

Origin:
Other

Subject:
Religious

Artist:
Dal Ponte, Giovanni

Giovanni dal Ponte (Giovanni di Marco) 1385-1437 Florentine

Madonna and Child Enthroned, Crowned by Two Angels with Saints Anthony Abbot and James Major

Tempera on gold ground panel

Giovanni dal Ponte, also known as Giovanni di Marco, is often grouped with the greatest artists of the early 15th century credited as the harbingers of the Italian Renaissance tradition. Studying under late 14th-century master Spinello Aretino and working alongside 15th-century contemporaries such as Lorenzo Monaco and Masaccio, Giovanni dal Ponte developed a style highlighted by careful use of perspective and naturalism that imbued his works with a tangible weightiness and truth to life. Such can be seen in his devotional composition entitled, Madonna and Child Enthroned, Crowned by Two Angels with Saints Anthony Abbot and James Major.

In this composition, the Madonna and Child are locked in tender embrace with one another, flanked by Saint Anthony Abbot on the left (identified by the small pig that sits dutifully at his feet) and Saint James Major on the right (holding the attributes of a book and a pilgrim's staff). Giovanni dal Ponte arranged the composition of these four central figures carefully to convey a sense of recession into space. This sense of depth, a nuance of the day portrayed so masterfully by Giovanni dal Ponte, is broken only with the cherubic Angels that alight over the flanking saints and seemingly emerging from clouds, an homage to the preceding Gothic painting tradition.

Given the age of dal Ponte's paintings, few examples of his work of this high quality appear on the open market. The majority of his works have become the prized acquisitions of important museums around the world, including the Prado Museum, Madrid, the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England.